The state of Pennsylvania has made a step towards some action on online gambling roll-out later in 2018.
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) revealed that it is to start accepting applications for online gambling licenses from suppliers and developers of both iGaming solutions and video gaming terminals (VGTs) for truck stops.
The process of accepting the applications for operating license is set to start on April 2nd. Applications can me filed online, on the official website of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, which is currently the authority that monitors and controls all aspects of the casino industry in the state.
The regulatory authority further revealed that the date for acceptance of applications for Interactive Gaming Platform Provider licenses is to be revealed at a later time.
For the time being, the state is to offer up to 13 online casino licenses, considering the fact that there are currently 12 casinos in the state, with a new one expected to be built in Philadelphia. As much as 13 online poker licenses are to be available in Pennsylvania, too. These licenses can be initially purchased by the gambling operators that already offer their services on the territory of the state. In addition the online casino and online poker licenses would be available separately or as part of a package.
Online Gambling Aimed to Reduce Budget Deficit
It was hard for the timeline for online gambling services roll-out to be predicted.
Pennsylvania finally passed a gambling expansion bill at the end of October 2017, under which it made online casinos and poker legal across the state. However, until now little actual progress was seen in the new gambling products’ launch.
Considering the latest announcement of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, every player in the state’s gambling sector will be given the chance to file its application in less than two months. And after the process of applications’ submission ends, the local Gaming Control Board is expected to start evaluating the applications, taking them into consideration and approve the best candidates. This process, however, would probably take months before the operators that are to be granted with a license are finally announced.
As previously reported by CasinoGamesPro, the state of Pennsylvania gave the nod to online gambling in attempt not only to make its existing gambling offerings more diversified, but also as part of its efforts to deal with its budget deficit. Apart from legalizing online gambling, local authorities also greenlighted gambling at truck stops and airports. After Governor Wolf signed the iGaming bill, Pennsylvania became the fourth US to legally offer online gambling to local customers, apart from the states of New Jersey, Nevada and Delaware.
The addition of the new licensees is believed to be beneficial for the state, which has been dealing with some financial problems for some time now. Pennsylvania has been suffering a budget deficit, and legalization of online gambling, airport and truck stops gambling considered as one of the possible ways for the state to fill in the budget hole.
